ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17270, 20 September 1919, Page 2 (Supplement)

ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.

THE TOWN OF THE PEACE. M. Clemeancean has presented to Ver-B-.'ies the historic inkpot and two penholders he used to sign the Peace Treaty. > A KITCHENER RELIC. An oar which came ashore at Thurso from a boat belonging to H.M.S. Hampshire, in which Lord Kitchener was lost has been presented to the town and will be placed in the museum. CELEBRATING PEACE. Mr. Rooth, Thames Police Court magistrate: "In this neighbourhood tho only manner in which peace is celebrated is by getting drunk, becoming disorderly, destroying other people's property, and assaulting the police. BELL TOLLS FTRST FOR DONOR. . Mr. Frank Day, the" brewer of St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, presented to the paiisn culuOi a new funeral bell to the memory ol fiis wife. It arrived on a Monday, and was hung just in time to toll for his own funeral on the Wednesday. TEAR GAS NUISANCE. Occasional whiffs of " tear gas" from some empty shell boxes at a Government factory in Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow, are said to be causing inconvenience by making people's eyes water, and the Ministry of Munitions is being asked to remove the boxes. SIX SUFFOCATED BY ALCOHOL. Alcohol used for cleaning tools leaking ii rough the floor of a house in Grenoble, France, asphyxiated a whole family of Ave. A soldier named Pelletier, in whose care the alcohol had been left by a gunner named Menand, was also killed. Menmd wept when conrt-martialled, and was icquitted. SWORD RESTORED IK ARMY. I The sword which was discarded during I die war because it was utterly useless has been formally returned to the British army. An 6rdar requires all " field marshals, generals, and colonels, when dismounted," to wear it on all ceremonial parades and at official ceremonies. DISLIKE OF CHRISTIAN NAME. Sir Edward Parkes, M.P. for Central Birmingham for 23 years until the last election, recently died at the age of 71. When, as Mr. Ebenezer Parkes, M.P., he was knighted in 1917, his decision to be known in future as Sir Edward Parkes caused no surprise to his intimates, to whom he was always known as " Teddy." Sir Edward's brother Israel was usually known as Mr. J. L Parkes. NEVER HEARD OF THE WAR. A woman of 92 living in Helena Road, Windsor, is still unaware that there has been a war. When she was informed that Ascot races were taking place for the first time for five years, she said she thought that as such a long time had elapsed they might be done without altogether. A dozen of her near relatives Fought in the war, and it was thought best not to tell her about it. PROFITABLE TREASURE-HUNTING. Treasure hunting no longer has the uncertainty of the search for mythical pirate hoards or legendary Spanish galleons; The British Admiralty which during the war kept salvage work in its own hands, is about to reopen it to civilian enterprise in British waters. Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of property have been sent beneath the waves during the war. Some ships have sunk so deep that they cannot be raised, but their treasure can be recovered. In other cases, the ships can be recovered, too. KILLED BY WITCH DOCTOR. All Cuba was recently shocked by the murder of a little boy shepherd of the Agramonte district, whose heart was removed, in the general opinion of the authorities, by "witch doctors." ' Cuban mothers are guarding their children with extreme vigilance. The whole countryside is alarmed and residents of cities shocked by the outrage. Evidence of a cult of " witch doctors" who believe the human heart possesses power to head all ills of the body has been reported in Cuba for a long time, but was discredited by many. The " witch doctors" thrive on the ignorant and superstitious labourers. OLD EBON FOR SHELLS. As the result of investigations which have been going on for some time, two brothers named Paulet have been an-ested at Marseilles. Before the war they were owners of a small workshop, and lived very modestly, but soon after the outbreak of war they became Government contractors and were able to put up huge factories, turning out immense quantities of material and undertaking huge orders. In carrying out a contract for shells for English 106-mm. guns, it is alleged that instead of using new and specially prepared steel, old iron which had already been used in the manufacture of reinforced concrete is stated to have been employed. CONTENTED MAN FOUND. A few weeks ago a small farmer of Massachusetts was informed that a sister of his bad died in New South Wales, leaving him a fortune of £125,000. The farmer, whose name was William J. Partltt, declined ♦■" accept the inheritance. He was very happy, he said, in his life, with wife, his three children, and his little farm for which he paid twelve dollars a month rent, and was afraid that his windfall would rob him of his happiness. The news of the man who had refused a fortune or £125.000 at once caught the fancy of America, and the farmer was besieged by people urging him not to be so foolish. ParfHt was evidently over-borne, for ho has now announced his intention of claiming his legacy. " HERE FELL A BOMB." Should London's bomb-wounds be marked? Westminster suggests a tablet I on each of a number of buildings, with the ■ inscription'" near this spot bombs were ] dropped by German air raiders," and the I date, number of poople killed and injured, and the words " Lest we forget." Nineteen places in Westminster were 6truck, and 78 persons were killed and 167 injured. Chelsea and Hammersmith support the plan. In Hammersmith, as a ■ fact, no tablet will be needed : No German , bomb fell in its boundaries. But nine j councilsßermondsey, Camberwell, Dept- | ford, Lambeth, St. Pancras, Shoreditch, South wark, Wandsworth, and Woolwich I —have declined to support Westminster. I Seventeen others have not given their opinion either way. SAVED THE PICTURES. During the bombardment of Ypres in 1915 a young artillery officer noticed inside the cathedral, which was being heavily shelled, that the only things which had not been shattered by German fire were two large Flemish masters, dated 1600 some 20ft high on the walls. How to get them and save them for Belgium was the question which immediately presented itself. The officer called two private soldiers to help him, and with the aid of some long gas pipes which had been blown i down by the German fire and two large ! hooks the pictures were lowered to the ! gronnd. • The officer, Lieutenant Daniels K.A., then cut the pictures out of their frames and put them in a large sack which he used for a time as a bed. He took advantage of his first leave to England to deposit them in safe keeping He was received by the Belgian diplomatic representative and introduced to M Lambotte the Belgian Minister, who has given Lieutenant Daniels permission to show the pictures to any of his friends, after which he is returning them to the King of the I Belgians. 6

A GOOD DOTATION. > j J Denying that he -was an Irishman, a *» -3 witness at WiUesden, England, declared, K "I've lived here all my Tile, except the = last twenty years." WANTED—A BRINK. '* If science would invent a drink with. out alcohol which made one leel as cheer.ful as a glass of good champagne it would earn the thanks of the universe," said Lord Farrer at the annual meeting of the Surrey Public House Trust at Guildford, BRITAIN'S youngest soldier, Said to be the youngest member of the British Army, Drummer Gordon Usher aged 14, of the Cheshire Regiment, waa dealt with by the Willesden magistrates for being an absentee. He said he came to London to see his mother.A FATAL PEACE FIBEWOEX. While celebrating Peace a London barge builder, George JR. Pace, aged 45, placed gunpowder in the adjusting hole of a 561b weight and applied a light. The weight was shattered, and Pace died in Guy't Hospital from the injuries he received. EMPLOYER AGED 11. " Oh, this is Mr. — the newsagent," said the Acton magistrate, when a boy of 11 appeared before him as defendant. The lad was summoned for employing a boy of 9. "No doubt he has the commercial instinct," said the magistrate, "but he cannot be allowed to make a fortun* out of another little boy." He was os» dered to pay costs. ' SEAFARER'S HOMECOMING. . Charged at Grimsby with having been drunk and disorderly, James Rivers, a deep sea steward, gave this excuse. He had just arrived from Australia to learn that his wife and four children died from influenza at North Shields four months ago. Letters containing the news had missed him during the nine months voyage home. The magistrates dismissed the case. BOY WITH THBEE LIVES. Whilst searching for sea galls' eggs on the high cliifs between Deal and Dover, William Roberta, aged 15, of Dover, feJJ on to the rooks 300 ft below, and although severely injured, he miraculously escaped death. It was low water at the time, and Roberts * would have been drowned with the rising tide had he not been discovered by a naval policeman. The lad was taken to Dover Hospital, where ha made good progress. DETONATOR FERTILISERS. The Edmonton Council recently asked the Home Office and Munitions Ministry to investigate charges that detonators had been buried at a local factory, and that a lorry of burning incendiary bombs wag driven through a street. A report received shows that tho bombs were dummies, and that the detonators were buried and exploded to fertilise the ground. A fine crop of oats is said to be the result. SHAME." * As the Germans cannot erect a stains to victory, they will build a monument of mourning. It is proposed, in the "Vossische Zeitung, to build such a monument, consisting of an enormous heap of stones. Every German who suffered daring the war, either at home or in the field, or who lost a relative, would lay his stone on the heap. Suggested inscriptions tola placed on three sides of the monument arti " Don't forget the two million Germans •who died for you,** - " IJon't forget tlt» 800,000 women and children who starved for the Fatherlafad," and "Think of tha six millions who were mutilated for the Fatherland." On the fourth side it ia proposed there ishould be the simple inscription "-Shams!" or nothing at ah. HOUSE WITH HO WAY IS. The story of a. man who built a house round himself and could find no tray out ■was recalled in Uxbridge County Court recently. An application was made to Judge Scully for the possession, of a cottage in order to provide an entry to a large building behind, which has been converted into & hall. The cottage and others have been built since the original building, long unoccupied, was erected, and the owner found himself with no legai right of entry fiora a highway. Judge Scully refosea to give possession of the cottage, but approved an arrangement whereby the owperr can demolish the lower part on undertaking to allow, the tenant to use two rooms on the first floor and the attic rent free. BATTLEFIELD GRAZING. The question of the extent to which sheep could expedite the agricultural recovery of the devastated districts cf France and Belgium has been ciosely considered by tho Agricultural Relief of Allies Committee, which recently sent two expert she«p-breeders to inquire into the conditions prevailing in the war zona. Here and there farmers are returning, and to those who have experience of sheep the Agricultural Relief of Allies Committee contemplate a gift of British animals. The Department of the Somme has undertaken to place a flock of British sheep at the Departmental farm near Boves, and to dispose of a portion of the progeny to sheep fanners as they return to their holdings on the Somme. The Belgian Ministry of Agriculture is also prepared to make special arrangements that the committee nmy assist the stricken farmers in the Yser Valley as far as possible by gifts of British sheep.

DESPERADOES IN TEARS. Two juvenile desperadoes, who oound and robbed another schoolboy recen'Jy, left the Tottenham Court in tears when they were ordered four strokes with the birch. Three boys, tho eldest 12, wert charged with stealing a purse containing 9s 4d from a 10-year-old boy who was going an errand. He said that in Hertford Road three boys rushed at him from behind a fence. They had handkerchiefs tied round their mouths. They knocked him down, dragged him behind a fence, and bound him with a piece of string. They then went through his pockets, tnd took the money. Passers-by heard his cries, and the lads were caught. The eldest boy, Charles Butcher, told the Court that after they had taken the money he tried to persuade his mates to give it back. He wee discharged. The others, Thomas Butcher, nine, and William Prior, ten, said t'pey wanted money to go to the pictures. "WEST-END " SHARKS." With the termination of hostilities the perils from West-end " sharks have returned with added forces, saya a London paper. The case of the young ex-soldier of aristocratic family who got into the hands of West End crooks, with the result that he found himself in the dock, is not the only one of the kind by any means which throw light on the work of these gangs. During the war their operations were on a very minor scale. Now they are sufficiently serious to require the attention of special men from Scotland Yard. There are several of these gangs operating in the West End. Although they work separately, it is believed that each one is well known to the others, and that they assist each other in emergency. -They are composed of wull-dressed, gentlemanlymannered men, -,rhose pockets, thanks to their nefarious practices, are generally we lined. They rob hotels and boarding-houses, and win the friendship of young men of good family when possible, using them to secure good social introductions, or blackmailing thorn. Introductions into good circles, of course, aid them tremendously in their pursuits.